Josh Lederman posts at The Hill on “Siding with Gov. Walker in union fight could cost Romney in Nov.” It would be delicious if Romney lost the November election because of his shameless toadying up to Wisconsin’s anti-union GOP establishment. As Lederman puts it:
Embracing Walker offers major short-term advantages for Romney in Wisconsin, which holds its primary contest Tuesday, as the GOP front-runner looks for the last few wins he needs to lock up the nomination. But it might also risk alienating voters in union-heavy swing states such as Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania — at just the time when Romney and his campaign hope to turn their attention to the general election.
…Campaigning in Michigan in February, Romney blasted “labor stooges” who he said were shilling for Obama. The former Massachusetts governor also backed Ohio Gov. John Kasich’s (R) anti-union law, which voters overturned in November.
Romney’s campaign said he stands with Walker and will continue to address the union issue in the final days of the Wisconsin primary, including by visiting a call center where volunteers are working to keep Walker in office.
Romney’s pandering may not play so well on a national stage. As Lederman notes, “…a USA Today/Gallup poll in February showed that 61 percent of Americans opposed a law in their state similar to the one Walker championed in Wisconsin.” It’s not only Romney’s gaffes that feed the ‘Richie Rich’ image that fits him so well; it’s his beliefs and policies.